Diversa enter the space (and seemingly won't have to pay XOMA royalties) -
...In addition, the Tunable GeneReassembly technology is a powerful component of Diversa's de novo human antibody program, which is aimed at creating fully- human antibodies in vitro that are designed to incorporate optimal stability, functionality, and diversity, without the limitations of hybridoma technologies or transgenic animals. The combination of Diversa's DirectEvolution technologies and ultra high-throughput screening capabilities has yielded a large in vitro library of fully-human antibodies. This library has been expressed in mammalian cells and validated by successfully identifying a human antibody against a known antigen.
Diversa's Tunable GeneReassembly methodology explores new genetic diversity by utilizing a computer-controlled system to generate multiple gene- sets that differ in crossover frequencies. This method allows higher degrees of product improvement than may be achievable using traditional, homology- based molecular evolution methods and thus, represents a next-generation evolution method in which crossover selection is not governed by DNA polymerases. The TGR technology allows structural information to be incorporated into crossover point decisions, permits simultaneous optimization of codons, and enables evolution of many gene families, including those in which the starting genes have little or no DNA sequence identity. For example, in the case of a gene family that is mutation sensitive, crossover frequencies can be programmed in one scenario to reflect recombination-based DNA shuffling; however, if the gene family to be blended is more resilient to mutations, crossover frequency can be increased accordingly to surpass the capabilities of standard shuffling approaches. Finally, the Tunable GeneReassembly technology accelerates the rate at which genes and gene pathways can be modified to generate products with desired properties. |
